27 (U199.831)

Stephen went down Bedford row, 

27th cast. page 119, line 831.

 

  Stephen went down Bedford row, the handle of the ash clacking against his shoulderblade. In Clohissey’s window a faded 1860 print of Heenan boxing Sayers held his eye. Staring backers with square hats stood round the roped prizering.

 

Episode 10. Right before the 6th blog. Stephen is walking down Bedford row toward the riverbank.

 

I notice that the eye in "held his eye" is singular. I think this means that he glanced at it.

 

The boxing match between American John Camel Heenan (1834 - 1873) and Englishman Tom Sayers (1826 - 1865) took place on April 17, 1860 in Farnborough, Hampshire, a few kilometers south of London. Considered the first international title fight, the bout between the two great champions was greeted with great enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

In those days, boxing was called bare-knuckle boxing, fought with bare hands, and the fight lasted until the knockdown. And it was illegal.

 

Sayers, 34 years old, weighed 66 kilograms and was 172 centimeters, while Heenan, 26 years old, weighed 88 kilograms and was 188 centimeters, giving Sayers a disadvantage in terms of age and size.

 

The fight was, of course, a betting event, and 12,000 spectators gathered in the meadow around the ring. The fight lasted two hours and twenty-seven minutes. After the police intervened, the fight went on for five more rounds before the referee called it a draw.

 

Another boxing match that is mentioned many times in Ulysses is that between Keogh and Bennett, which took place on May 22, 1904, just a few days after the current date of the novel, June 16, 1904.Keogh, from Ireland, beat Bennett, a British sergeantmajor. Keogh is a real boxer, but Bennett is a fictional boxer.

 

While Heenan vs. Sayers is a legendary Anglo-American rivalry, Keogh vs. Bennett is the current England-Ireland rivalry. It introduces the theme of nationalism into the novel.

 

I don't know what “a square hat” is, but looking at the picture, it seems to be a silk hat.It is a pairing of “square” and “round”. This is really brilliant.

Heenan vs Sayers

"VICTOR DUBREUIL (American, active 1880 - 1910). The International Contest between Heenan & Sayers, circa 1880s" by Diversity Corner is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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